Radio Free Asia reported that on December 27, the National Financial Work Conference was held in Beijing. The conference called for the “mentality to live on a tight budget next year” and strictly control general expenditures and spending. In addition, it proposed that there will be a substantial increase in local government special bonds, strict control of local government’s implicit debt, prevention and resolution of financial risks; promotion of economic transformation; further release of domestic demand potential; promotion of regional coordinated development; the strengthening of safeguards; and the improvement of people’s livelihood. At the same time, the meeting proposed that a larger scale of tax reduction and fee reduction will be implemented next year.

The conference also promoted the key work in 2019, which includes a pilot project on agriculture-related funds in poverty-stricken counties, accelerating the construction of poverty alleviation funds, poverty alleviation, and rural construction. At the same time, it emphasized the requirement to strengthen the international financial cooperation led by the “One Belt, One Road” project, actively participating in and leading the formulation of rules in international finance and economics, and firmly safeguarding and enhancing China’s national interests.

In the article, RFA quoted a statement an economist made. He stated that the key reason for China’s economic deterioration is the defects in the existing system. Therefore, no matter how the government strengthens macroeconomic regulations and control, it cannot solve the fundamental problem. The existing political system has resulted in a serious imbalance in the Chinese economy. The policy that allows the state to advance and the private sector to retreat has caused an abnormal development of the economy. As a result, the general public has to bear the pain from reform, including the unemployment of hundreds of millions of workers. Many small and medium-sized enterprises began to fall in the winter of 2017 with a sharp decline in revenue and no guarantee for financing.